EPISODE 01
The thing to understand about shows like Ozma is there's really very little happy mediums. There's a tendency to either really love or really hate it, with both sides having very valid points to support their views. Neither side is wrong. This is all about taste.
It's a Leijiverse thing, really.
Art style is not the only thing you'll see familiar if you've ever ...
EPISODE 01
The thing to understand about shows like Ozma is there's really very little happy mediums. There's a tendency to either really love or really hate it, with both sides having very valid points to support their views. Neither side is wrong. This is all about taste.
It's a Leijiverse thing, really.
Art style is not the only thing you'll see familiar if you've ever passed a glance over at other Matsumoto standards (Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express 999, Battleship Yamato, etc.). Character names are recycled and given to new personalities. Hardly a bad thing; in fact, it's rather entertaining to see so many familiar faces and names showing up, mixing things around, and giving us a whole new sandbox to play in. (There is a tiny bit of heartbreak for those who've watched the Arcadia of My Youth film, though...)
There's no shortage of sand. Rather than taking to the sea of stars as is very common in Matsumoto works, Ozma is on the ground, in a post-apocalyptic-style desert. It's a nice spin on the typical slew of space/sky pirates: sand pirates, it looks like. The true nature of this interesting crew remains to be seen, and we'll have five more episodes to see what happens.
The personalities are crisp and very forefront in this episode. The pacing, unlike several other Matsumoto shows, is a lot quicker (obviously due to the episode limit), which keeps your attention right from the start to finish. Already we have our protagonists and antagonists in tow (save for at least one, it seems): bright-eyed boy, mysterious and beautiful woman on the run, spunky girl, strong-willed captain, and others.
It's very nice to see so many female characters fleshing out the cast as compared to so many other shows in and out of the genre. Several different types are on deck, though, naturally, all in that very familiar Matsumoto art style. If you're a fan of his work, I think you'll really enjoy seeing all the different cuts and attitudes the ladies bring to the table.
If our mysterious masked not-really-Harlock-but-you-can't-deny-that-resemblance man is anything to go by, we're in for a bit of drama. Again, such is Leijiverse! And I welcome it. This episode balanced its start-up action with a great deal of introductory pleasantness. It also looks like this show has a bit more budget than the other recent Leijiverse additions (Cosmo Warrior Zero, Gun Frontier, etc.); the animation is a lot smoother and less clunky than I expected. Expressions and comedic timing are really clicking in this episode, too; Sam Coyne/Coin really captures and holds on to attention.
New to Matsumoto titles? Don't be afraid. Give it a shot! You might find yourself as charmed as I am. If not, hey. No shame in giving something its good turn, and a Leiji Matsumoto work is a great thing for any anime fan, young or old, to give a shot.
Overall, I'm very excited to see where this goes. For something so brief, it has the makings of a very entertaining ride. Fingers crossed!
EPISODE 02
With character introductions more or less taken care of, this episode moves right into the test of wills between Captain Bynas/Bainas' sandship crew and Gido (the masked Harlock lookalike mentioned previously) – the former looking to make an escape with the mysterious Maya. This is the bulk of the episode: a big game of chicken, testing the resolve of two leaders against the survival of an entire crew.
The mood has shifted very pointedly from wide-eyed, spirited adventure to tense drama – a bit overdramatic, at that. This is true to the Leijiverse style; old fans were ready for this, new fans are going to be tested here. This is melodrama you either grow to love or will roll your eyes at.
Point in case: Our mysterious miss Maya is the only one to truly suffer under the downright suffocating conditions building in the ship as it rests, buried under the sand waiting for Gido's crew to give up the wait. In her defense, the ship is buried under the sand of a blazing hot desert, and she's probably never endured such conditions before. I can cut her some slack. It gives other members of the cast to show their stances on her – the most mysterious being that of the sometimes-drunken doctor. In case you missed the whole army-chasing-one-woman-down part from the first episode, Maya's got some significance. As to what precisely is unknown as of yet.
This episode spotlights the opposing captains more than anything, though. And that interesting ship. Bynas has that famous iron will of previous Matsumoto captains, whereas ironically (but not unexpectedly) it's Gido who relents. A nice little mixer for old fans, but all watchers can still enjoy.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your tastes), it seems there's a lot of effort to make this show streamline more closely to contemporary anime designs, which is making for really strange moments in the animation. Staying on-model is difficult, especially with how stylized these characters already are. Derp-mouths and awkward profiles (especially of our latest new character) are in play. They provide little unexpected, unintentional moments of derp/humor. Gotta love it.
With Gido's superior revealed, things are starting to move closer to a more apparent conflict, a reveal of secrets.
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